


BITS 'N bones

by Rosealyn



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Brother-Sister Relationships, End of the World, Infection, Mages, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Relationships, Young Papyrus (Undertale), Young Sans (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-01-11 05:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18423930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosealyn/pseuds/Rosealyn
Summary: Life used to be simple. Days used to slide through one another with little difference. Then the monsters were freed. Chaos ensued for a seemingly endless stream of time before the world calmed again. Peace between the species was just starting to be explored when the Outbreak occurred.More or less a series of short one shots vaguely held together by plot.





	1. Prologue

No one had a solid explanation for how it started. Some blamed fate, others a weapons test gone wrong (or horribly right), and a few even pointed to the monsters; the kind creatures from below the earth. This time it seemed as if the end was truly nigh. Ironically the biggest threat after the appocolypse were not the changed, the infected, who were mindless creatures driven by instinct alone, but the survivors, the HUMANS.  
Humans had always been volatile, capable of great kindness but equally great fear and violence. The Outbreak had multiplied those traits expanentonally. In a world where it's kill or be killed, however, kindness got one nowhere save for dead.

 

TWO YEARS AGO  
It had been a normal day, perfectly dull humans milling about their lives. Then the earth shook upon its very foundation. An echoing boom silenced everything and just like that, half of Mt. Ebott was gone. Not long after strange creatures began to emerge from the depths. Chaos rained throughout the land, it was several days before the human population calmed once more, and even longer before these creatures calling themselves 'Monsters' were allowed off of the mountain they had spent so long being prisoners in. Time continued to pass and after long debates the Monsters finally got the freedom they had so long deserved.   
As with anyone who held differences, there were opposers, racists and radicals alike. The Monsters kept to themselves for a long time, to avoid the hash reality of those who had put themselves on pedestals, claiming they were better simply because of what they looked like. Eventually even these factions calmed to a state of semi acceptance. Things looked up and peace fell upon the land.   
This peace did not last long.   
It was subtle at first. One or two humans acting aggressively, nothing out of the norm. These cases soon doubled, then doubled again. By the time anyone took notice, thousands were infected. The symptoms were soon made public, an attempt to slow the outbreak.  
First came the insomnia, the inability to sleep. With that came an aversion to daylight. The skin would pale and be covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Irritability followed and then narcolepsy would take hold. Cases of sleep walking had been reported as well. After all this, the veins around the eyes will start to pop, followed by the reddening of the eyes. Extreme aggression when confronted with another living being is the final stage. The infected can no longer communicate through any sort of language and they often just scream.   
The outbreak, which had originally been a contact spread disease that jumped to droplets and then to air. Before any headway could be made on a vaccine or cure, three quarters of the human population was changed. No where was safe, no one was trust worthy, and the world began to scream and burn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N   
> Tell me what you think, I really appreciate feedback.


	2. An apocalyptic life for me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mages had been in the same boat as monsters, staying hidden for centuries after the erection of the barrier and witch trails. They had come forward when the Monsters had escaped to try and right the wrongs of their ancestors.

Rae Smith, or "Smithy" as her pre-Outbreak friends had called her, was a private woman. Even before the world started to burn as the apocalypse raged across the lands, Rae had enjoyed her solitude. She was a hard worker, dabbling in quite a bit, her love for learning superseded only by her adoration for the outdoors. After the Outbreak occurred she had lost everyone she trusted and held dear. Rae broke free from the city and took to the mountains and forest of Ebbot.  
It had been a few months in when she came across them. Rae had been doing a routine property check of the old farm house she had taken to. The fences surrounding were sturdy, but they did need upkeep. She was finishing her last rounds when a pain laced scream echoed through the woods. It wasn't uncommon, the whole damn world was screaming, but this tugged upon her very Soul. She didn't know why she did, but Rae dropped her tools and booked it. The forest had gone quiet, but following the strange incessant tugging in her chest led her straight to a hoard of waking infected, a group of angry humans, and two shaking skeletal monsters, still in their stripes. It didn't take long to figure the humans were racist assholes, even in the apocalypse, going by the weapons drawn and the kid clutching his jaw which was leaking dust. Rae would not stand for this. The assholes were loud and stupidly ignorant of the danger they were both from the hoard and the taller skeletal kid whose eye was flashing a dangerous blue, magic coiling through the air.  
Rae threw out her arm, gathering strength, and within a single breath had the plants around her blocking the three groups. This left her and the two kids together.  
"Hey," she spoke quietly, "I'm not going to hurt you, I swear."  
The taller kids eye sockets widened, magic fizzling out, "you're a mage!"  
Rae nodded, "I am and I can help you and your friend there-"  
"papy's my bro."  
"Alright, brother then, I can help you. Can work a bit of magic," she danced her fingers, green sparks flashing, "on that wound of yours." The younger brother looked to the elder, who seemed to judge Rae's very Soul. With a quick nod, the woman brought her hand to Pappy's jaw, stopping the flow of dust. She then offered her hands to the two boys, "Come with me, those walls of mine will only hold for a little while. I have a safe place."  
The two hesitated for only a moment, before climbing into Rae's arms. As the three left the woods and cries of the humans behind, they addmited to themselves that for the first time in a long time they felt at peace in the hell they lived in.


	3. The Farm House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is Home now.

All was quite when the trio exited the woods. The fences surrounding the property stood proud against the white house and red barn. Rae set the taller boy, who she had learned was named Sans, down fiddling with the wards on the wood.  
"Do these keep out the bad?" Sans asked skeptically, he had good reason. It was a picket fence after all.  
"My brand of magic doesn't work well with inorganics like metal. The wards I have set up will warn me if undesirables get too close. I'm adding the two of your soul signatures to them now, so you'll be safe to come and go as you please."  
Rae finished casting her magic, holding her hand out for Sans to take. Papyrus was sound asleep in her arms. Sans took her hand, crossing over the barrier. It made him shiver a bit. That type of magic had kept the Monsters prisoners for years, now though it would keep them safe. With the gate closed behind them, Rae led the way to the house.  
"A lovely old couple used to live here." She explained to the child, "but they didn't survive the Outbreak."  
Sans nodded. A lot of humans had perished in the first days. Many monsters became victims of the violence that ensued. It scared him sometimes how much dangerous intent the infection could cause. He sensed none of that from Rae though, she truly seemed genuine in her want to help. If he hadn't seen her soul for himself he would have questioned her kindness relentlessly, but he did. Sans knew what it meant, her kindred soul. Some souls just clicked so well together, forming bonds be it romantic, friendly, or familial. The bond the three of them now shared was without a doubt familial. It let him relax for the first time since this hell began, knowing there was someone so powerful who had their backs now. Sans and Papyrus could finally say they found home, not in a place but in Rae, the kind lady who has sworn to care for them from now on.


	4. The Wire

Papyrus' jaw could not be completely healed. How temporomandibular joint had eroded away into dust. Now half of his lower jaw hung loosely. Rae didn't have the kind of healing technique to bring back necrotic tissue. It wasn't painful, the brave little skeleton had assured his brother and new friend, it just felt odd.   
Rae blamed herself for not healing it sooner, but a pity party wouldn't help the boy. She and Sans searched the house, looking for something to help Papyrus out. Twine would be too weak and so was straw. It took them a few hours before they found some wire in the basement.  
"hey rae," Sans called from one end of the dark room, a floating glowing orb Rae had summoned casting the only light, "do ya think this would work?"  
Rae carefully clambered over the old musty boxes to the youngling's side. She took the copper wire from him and bent it expirmentally. "We can certainly work with this. Might take a little while for your brother to get used to it." The two of them headed up the stairs, the orb dissipating into the air, "We'll wait until he's awake. I'll disinfect this real quick. You wanna go grab some veggies from the garden? We can make some lunch soon."  
Sans nodded his head and broke away from Rae to go out the back door. But just before he got all the way, he rushed back, flinging himself around her torso. "thank you rae, for everything your doing for us." He sniffed, but kept his head burried in her side. "you're the best person i know. sides from paps of course."  
Rae smiled down at the boy, gently pushing him back so she could get to his level. "I will be here for you and Papyrus as long as you need me. I... I promise I won't leave you alone." She gently wiped his blue tears away. "For as long as you'll have me, I'll be by your side. Okay?"  
Sans nodded with a grin, "okay!" Before running outside to get the food.   
Deep in her soul Rae could feel a warmth there that had been absent since the start of this horror. For the first time she felt like she had a real reason to move forward, to greet each day with a smile. Rae was filled with love.


	5. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rae learns more about the boys.

They were afraid of thunder, Rae learned this during the second night. The storm wasn't anything to bad, just loud. She found Papyrus huddling under the table with a blanket, crying out for Sans. He was still getting used to the wire holding his jaw in place, so his speech was a bit strained.  
"Hey there Papy, why don't 'cha come on out." She kneeled by the table and held her hand out to him, "I know it sounds really scary, but that's all it is. Just noise."  
"I want Sans." He murmured, wiping the orange tears from his cheeks, still curled in a ball.  
Rae smiled kindly, "how's about we go find him together? That sound good?"  
Papyrus nodded. He didn't want to be alone, but he wanted Sans too. It could be like a game! Games always got his mind off of the bad stuff. He took Rae's hand. She fixed the wire holding him together first before casting a candlelight spell to trail them in the dark.  
"Now if I were a Sans, where would I be?" Rae pondered aloud.  
"Sleeping." Papyrus addmited, "You'd be sleeping. My big brother may be awesome, but he can be so lazy. He gets really tired sometimes."  
Rae nodded, checking some of the bedrooms, "So I've noticed. That boy can fall asleep anywhere. Do you know why?" He wasn't in the boys' bedrooms.  
"Sans doesn't think I notice, but I do. He gets really sad sometimes." Papyrus didn't feel like playing right now. Rae noticed and picked him up. "Our dad... He was a good man really, but he was so focused on freeing the Monsters that I think he sometimes forgot about us being his sons. Sans raised me all on his own. Dad did things to us. Tried to make us stronger so we could break the barrier. Some of those things hurt. It's where the cracks came from." He traced the web of hairline fractures that danced across the right side of his skull. They were near identical to Sans'. "Dad doesn't really... exist anymore. A project of his went wrong. No one can remember him, just me and Sans. I didn't at first, but when the barrier broke... My brother doesn't know that I do. He worries so much, I didn't know how to bring it up. Sometimes he forgets that he's just a kid too. NYEH!" Another crack of thunder boomed through the sky, startling the child. He clung to Rae tightly in his panic. "I'd, uh, I'd really like to see Sans now."  
"Right." Rae had stopped walking when Papyrus was reminiscing. The pair entered her room, she could hear shuffling coming from the closet. Slowly she opened the door, finding the taller skeleton boy cowering there, hands over his skull, blue tears flowing freely. She could only imagine the horror he was reliving due to the noise. "Sans." She called softly. The boy's head shot up, sockets blank. "Come here."  
"Sis, Paps!" He flung himself into her arms.  
"Hush little one. We're here." She wanted to ask about the 'Sis' slip, but figured now was not the time. Rae rearranged her hold so she could stand with them. They clung to her like a lifeline. A faint tune left her closed lips in a hum as she made her way through the house, entering the quietest room. The booms of thunder nothing but an after thought here. "I'm here for you. The both of you. You're not alone."  
They fell asleep in one another's arms.


	6. Peace

Childish giggles echoed through the air. The sun was high on the sky and a faint breeze blew. Rae was in the garden, clearing away sticks and other debris the storm had blown about. Sans and Papyrus were running around the yard playing tag and jumping in puddles. It was times like these that they could forget that the world was crumbling. They were safe here and as long as they were careful, they would continue to be.  
Just as Rae finished clearing away the last of the remnants, Papyrus ran up to her. "Sis! Sans is cheating!"  
"am not!" Came the reply, complete with his glowing blue tongue poking out.  
"Are too!" Papyrus stomped his foot.  
Rae chuckled a bit, "calm down boys. Now Papy, how was Sans cheating?"  
"He's being lazy." Papyrus pouted, "We were playing tag, but instead of chasing or running like a NORMAL person he keeps poofing!"  
Rae rose an eyebrow, "Poofing?" The younger gave a firm nod. "Sans?"  
He shrugged, "just using the resources." He disappeared and then reappeared next to the others, "poofing."  
Rae blinked in surprise, "you can teleport?"  
Sans shrugged, "yeah i guess."  
"Huh. The more ya know." She shook her head then stood, "Well as long as no one's getting hurt. Papyrus if sans is playing dirty, so can you."  
"Wait what?"  
"Here's a couple mud pies, have at it."  
An evil grin grew on the younger's face, "NYEH HEH HEH! SANS PREPARE YOURSELF FOR WAR!"  
"sis you traitor!" Sans ran for his life, Papyrus following after him like a maniac. Despite the words the two couldn't keep the grins off of their faces. This peace, it was nice. Here, in the Safe Place they were free to be themselves, to be children once more. It made Rae happy, seeing them play. Her smile slipped slowly as she peered to the east, staring out into the expanse of forest. Hopefully this peace would last.


End file.
